Secrets of the Gascoyne

Find out more about the beautiful and remote Gascoyne, The fiercely independent Hutt River Province and check out Kalbarri in WA.

This is a favourite trip of ours into Western Aus’ has just been posted up in the great e-mag RV Daily … Enjoy the read for free, online HERE

You can read more of Jan’s pieces on the Editorial page link above… or just click HERE

Enjoy… Jan

Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia

It’s winter across Aus’ and for my international readers… winter does not alway mean cold, but more chill nights and shorter days in so many places in Australia.  The east coast is shivering under a cold front which has moved in… to say it is chill on the east side now is an understatement. But here on the west side, the sunset side of the Aus’ continent, we have our winter warmth. The Man and I are currently camped up above the Tropic of Capricorn and the only thing chill is the wind. When the wind is quiet, the days are perfect, with blue skies, vast horizons and the delightful warm winter sun.

Time Out – The Pinnacles Desert WA

We finally made it to a destination that I have wanted to visit for a long time, The Pinnacles Desert of Nambung National Park. This landscape is a natural mystery and The Man and I have now toured the hard sand loop through the pinnacles, marvelling at… and arguing over the mystery that is these pinnacles, which emerge from the sand, just south of Cervantes in WA, 200 klm north of Perth.

Penguin Island and the Swan Plain Karst, WA

Back in the Jurassic, in the time when the dinosaurs of Gondwana roamed along the Western Australian shores, the foundation was laid down on the floor of the ocean for the subterranean caves that dive deep into the limestone beds found around Perth. This in part is the Swan Plain Karst, a broad shore of Limestone that has been carved and fashioned by the subterranean rivers that flow beneath our feet, and in land movement over the ages.

WA’s Recreational Camps – A History

While we are preparing to point our noses east across the ‘Nullabor’ once more, (colonial spelling here), having dawdled around the shores of the SW corner of Western Australia, there is a history here that has become more evident. It is an unexpected tale perhaps. We have all heard of Australia’s whaling history, where the giants of the sea were once harvested indiscriminately along our shores and particularly along the shores of the SW WA, while settlement and colonization crept across the land. The harvest that is believed to have begun around 1837 was huge and bountiful and it decimated the whale population leaving a lasting impression on places like Albany, Esperance and much of the south west coast in a vivid history. The industry lured the French and Yanks to our shores as their ships cargoed the convicts and then turned their interests to whales in season. On the return run back to their home port they took the bounty of our seas with them. This oceanic massacre however eventually led to the industries own demise as whale numbers declined steadily over the decades of indiscriminate hunting and killing.  

Albany WA – Discovering Waugal

Being welcomed into the Albany Shire as a traveller and freecamping life-styler has been a great experience. We have spent two weeks in the region (and quite a few bucks) in exploring the towns, sandy tracks, shores and inlets of the beautiful region. Our friends, finding little welcome in recreational bush camps in Esperance Shire, joined us in Albany Shire and together we explored many of the sandy 4×4 tracks, inlets and bays looking for good fishing and camping spots as well as seeking out local pubs and eateries for a lunchtime feasts and roving snacks. It was a LOT of fun!

What we discovered also were traces of our ancient Australian Lore and pre-history in legend that dates back into the ice ages, the last of which was some 20,000 years ago. I love that Australia has such a long history evident in this region. I love that I am so close the bedrock of creation and I love seeking out all those wonderful legends of creation, which can be found simply in the land around us. Legends and Lore which I try to bring to readers in my novels of The Dreaming Series and the growing series of tales of The Spirit Children.

Sea, Sand and Sun WA – Rangers, Councils and Rec’ Areas

Point Louise Freecamp and Rec’ Area WA

Point Louise is just north of the Green Head settlement on the coast of WA, 2-3 hrs north of Perth. It is a favourite beach for freecampers travelling north and south along the Indian Ocean Drive, which hugs the coast as it meanders through the beautiful white sand hills. It is a beautiful drive, a beautiful stop and quite popular recreation area even out of season due to its sheltering reef and sandy beach. It is also made more popular by the fact that it is one of the very few campsites publicly available where families can stop-up and rest conveniently for free along the open coastline.  

Sea, Sand and Sun WA – Dongara and Port Denison

We are having lots of trouble leaving our current camp. It is just a great camp… few public amenities but we don’t require them. There is the cool rolling ocean water, warm white/golden sand and smell of the salt in the air that keeps us here. It’s the peace, the wildlife around us and the entertainment in those who share our day as they come and go. It’s the people who stay and 5 o’clock happy hour, which we are sharing with our fellow campers. It is the freedom of life and the adventure of a country we love.

Gnamma Holes … An Ancient Lifeline

We turned our headlights east this week to explore the Wheatbelt region of WA intending to once more reach into the Goldfields… bad move! It is bl**dy hot. It wasn’t this hot when we left the city of Perth, but in the following days a heat wave swept through the SW corner of Western Australia and the temperatures climbed into the mid 40’sC. We hadn’t planned on heading to the coast so soon but the pups had, and they made sure we knew just how hot they were.

The Beautiful Salt Lakes of WA

We are camped up in an alien landscape, deep in the Western Australian Goldfields Region. The landscape is so alien to us that I have been driven to spring clean … strange that. Spring cleaning is not my primary drive usually but The Man puts it down to expecting visitors. This is indicative of just how alien the landscape is as in travelling around, visitors for us are the people you camp-up with usually. Rarely do people actually drop in as they do when you live in a house. What is it about women that when you find yourself in an alien environment, you are driven to clean up!